Gainesville, Fla. –State Sen. Bill Montford and State Rep. Jake Raburn were named the 2014 Florida Farm Bureau Legislators of the Year on Oct. 30 at the organization’s 2014 annual meeting in Ponte Vedra Beach.

“Sen. Montford and Rep. Raburn have shown tremendous support for agricultural policy issues that help farmers and ranchers,” said FFBF President John Hoblick. “We are extremely proud of their excellent leadership and are pleased to recognize them.”

During the 2014 legislative session, Sen. Montford was instrumental in driving agricultural policy in the Florida Senate. He sponsored two of Florida Farm Bureau’s legislative priorities that passed the Florida legislature and were signed into law by Gov. Rick Scott.

Montford chaired the Senate Agriculture Committee, where he ensured that Florida agriculture was not negatively impacted by other legislation. Montford resides in Tallahassee with his wife, Jane. They have two children, William Montford IV and Katherine Montford Peters.

“We sincerely thank Sen. Montford for his support of Florida agriculture during the 2014 legislative session and throughout his time in the legislature,” said Hoblick.

Rep. Raburn sponsored the agriculture industry certification bill that provides a documented career path to agriculture students across Florida. It was signed into law by Gov. Rick Scott in May.

Raburn is a strawberry farmer from Plant City who advanced into politics to educate his constituents on the importance of protecting Florida agriculture. Raburn began his political leadership training through the Florida Farm Bureau Young Farmers & Ranchers Leadership Program in 2010 and has been a strong advocate for agriculture ever since. He is married to Melissa Hinton Raburn and has three sons, Jackson, Mason & Clayton.

“We thank Rep. Raburn for his continued commitment to agriculture and look forward to his strong leadership in the future,” said Hoblick.